A Springbok matchday 23 featuring no fewer than 10 changes will look to build on last week’s 33-7 victory when they lock horns with the Wallabies again this weekend in Perth. Here’s everything you need to know.
Boks head west looking to build after breaking Suncorp hoodoo
The Springboks’ emphatic 33-7 dismantling of the Wallabies in Brisbane last week was important for several reasons. Firstly, Rassie Erasmus got the Suncorp monkey off the sides’ back. Before last week, the last time South Africa won at Suncorp (Lang Park) was back in 2013. These two results bookended four consecutive defeats at the ground.
Secondly, the win bonus-point victory in combination with the All Blacks’ shock defeat in Wellington against Argentina means the Boks are in the pound seat heading into the second round. One criticism of the side over thelast few years is that they simply don’t perform to their World Cup levels outside of the showpiece event. This is evidenced by South Africa winning the World Cup as many times as they’ve lifted the Rugby Championship/Tri Nations.
It’s interesting then that Rassie Erasmus has opted for 10 changes to his matchday 23 this week. Young guns Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Elrigh Louw keep their places in the side after impressing in Brisbane while Jesse Kriel and Chelin Kolbe remain in the run-on XV at centre and wing. Pieter-Steph du Toit also keeps hold of his place, albeit moving back to his preferred role on the side of the scrum after playing lock last week.
The front row reverts back to the three that started against Portugal a few weeks ago. Thomas du Toit, Johan Grobbelaar and Jan-Hendrik Wessels will pack down together. Salmaan Moerat – who captains the side – and Ruan Nortje will be the run-0n locking partnership as Marco van Staden comes in at six alongside du Toit and Louw.
Amongst the backs, Aphelele Fassi and Makazole Mapimpi join Kolbe in the back three while Lukhanyo Am starts alongside Kriel in midfield. Finally, Morne van den Berg gets a first start at nine after impressing off the bench against Portugal.
Interestingly, there is space for both Manie Libbok and Handre Pollard on the bench which suggests we could see some interesting combinations in the backs during the second half. Grant Williams is the other back on the timber in a 5/3 split with Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth and Kwagga Smith set to inject a mega dose of second-half brutality.
🇦🇺 Lukhan Salakai-Loto responded to claims that the Springboks' much-changed lineup for the Perth Test is disrespect to the Wallabies. #AUSvRSA #RugbyChampionship pic.twitter.com/CVSHMTPSgw
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 14, 2024
How to watch?
Thankfully, we won’t need to set any pre-sunrise alarms this week. The build-up for Saturday’s encounter starts at 11:05 on SuperSport Grandstand (channel 201 on DStv) with the game set to kick off at 11:45.
Make sure not to miss the Eden Park showdown between the All Blacks and Argentina at 09:55 on the same channel. The ground has been a fortress for New Zealand, with France the last side to beat the All Blacks in Auckland in 1994.
Betting odds
No surprise that the Boks are heavy favourites after last weekend’s heroics. Here at Hollywoodbets, we make South Africa 12.5 favourites. Worth mentioning, however, that this could certainly be a tighter contest.
The multitude of changes to the Springbok side and the threat of torrential rain in Perth could prove massive levellers at Optus.
To Win Match
Australia 4/1 | Draw 33/1 | South Africa 1/6
Handicap
Australia (+12.5) 9/10 | South Africa (-12.5) 9/10
Optus Stadium
This will be the first time the Springboks and Australia square off at the magnificent Optus Stadium. The hosts have a decent record at the ground. They delivered a record-breaking 46-27 win against New Zealand back in 2019, before losing 21-38 to their trans-Tasman neighbours in 2021. Their most recent outing at the ground saw them record a 30-28 victory over England despite a 31st-minute Darcy Swaint red card.
The Springboks have never played at Optus, with their last Perth appearance coming at the interestingly named Perth Rectangular Stadium. That encounter ended in a 23-23 draw.
A ton of rain expected to fall in Perth over the weekend. And with there being questions around the quality of the surface over the last few years, it’ll be interesting to see how the hosts’ scrum holds up.
Right down to the wire in Perth against the Springboks from 2012 💪
— Wallabies (@wallabies) August 15, 2024
📅 Sat 17 Aug, 5:45PM AWST
🆚 South Africa
🏟️ Optus Stadium
🎟️ https://t.co/zPBTFPUhHS
📺 @stansportau | @channel9 | @9Now #Wallabies #TRC2024 pic.twitter.com/f7ApJUgQub
Last meeting & head-to-heads
You don’t need to dig too deep into the archives here. The sides met last weekend with the Springboks’ forwards laying the foundation for a 33-7 win. That result means that the Boks have now won three on the spin against the Aussies.
- 10 August 2024: SA won 33-7 in Brisbane
- 8 July 2023: SA won 43-12 in Pretoria
- 3 September 2022: SA won 8-24 in Sydney
- 27 August 2022: Australia won 25-17 in Adelaide.
- 18 September 2021: Australia won 30-17 in Brisbane
Teams
We’ve spoken at length about the changes to the South African side. Crucially for the hosts, Marika Koroibete (who gets to renew his rivalry with Mapimpi) returns to the side while Nic White cracks the nod at 9. Angus Bell has recovered from a toe injury in time to add a bit of steel to the Wallabies’ front row. He’s joined by Allan Alaalatoa and debut starter Josh Nasser.
Australia
15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Angus Blyth, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (captain), 2 Josh Nasser, 1 Angus Bell.
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 James Slipper, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Tom Hooper, 20 Seru Uru, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen.
South Africa
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Handré Pollard.
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